I didn`t cast a vote because I don`t hire developers. However, I`ve done a lot of work on presentations to Emerging Technology executives, and I see a critical option missing in the above poll:

For me...I look at several areas...that are not covered in your poll...
Besides their resume and references, I ask them to send me some samples of work they have done in the area I am looking.  If I cannot evaluate the code they sent to me, I send it to a service or person I trust.  What is critical is if they have a documentation trail on the code they sent, besides it working. I also have them to lay out a development schedule for me as well on either the coding piece or the project.

I applaud you. You (and Craig L) do more than most of the companies at which I have interviewed. I asked this question obviously because of my business. Unfortunately there is a growing trend in my industry to pad (if not outright lie on) resumes. When I was doing research for my business I was surprised at the number of sites dedicated to teaching people the “art” of stretching the truth (e.g. http://www.fakeresume.com/).  Anyway, the items I listed were the only ones I had experienced in actual interviews. I also left off “Require the applicant to write a program and defend their solution” which is what most software companies do.

I have a friend who`s starting up a Web development business. She`s been involved in bulletin boards and HTML since its inception. But her background was in graphic arts, art as an artist, and printing. So she`s never previously considered herself a software developer or programmer.

In the recent past, she too has discovered what you`re saying above. She`s been called in to fix and repair horribly designed sites, really bad coding, and other forms of nonsense. When she`s asked about who created the originals, she`s often been given a copy of that person`s résumé.

What she`s found is that the résumés may look fantastic, but they`ve been bloated and expanded into the realm of fantasy.

We`ve reached a point in history and culture where what`s really happening seems to have little value anymore. What people say is happening seems to matter much more. Few people seem to understand the concept of intrinsic value, real value, objective value, and even the meaning of words like "facts."

As always, it`s a case of Buyer Beware. But lately, the buyers don`t know they`re buying something, don`t care about being wary, and are utterly astounded when they buy a pig in a poke.